Kōchi Ryōma Airport

:"For the international airport in Kochi, India, see Cochin International Airport."Infobox Airport
name = Kōchi Ryōma Airport
nativename-a = 高知龍馬空港
nativename-r =


IATA = KCZ
ICAO = RJOK
type = Public
owner =
operator = Kochi Airport
city-served =
location = Nankoku, Kōchi, Japan
elevation-f = 42
elevation-m = 13
website = [http://www.kochiap.co.jp/ www.kochiap.co.jp]
metric-rwy = y
r1-number = 14/32
r1-length-m = 2,500
r1-length-f = 8,203
r1-surface = Asphalt
footnotes = Source: DAFIFWAD|RJOK|source=DAFIF] GCM|KCZ|source=DAFIF]

Kōchi Ryōma Airport (高知龍馬空港) airport codes|KCZ|RJOK, also known as Kōchi Airport (高知空港), is a regional airport in Nankoku, a city in the Kōchi Prefecture of Japan. It is located on the southeastern coast, near the city of Kōchi.

The convert|120|ha|acre|0|lk=on|adj=on airport has a single runway handling small to medium size aircraft. The convert|10900|m2|sqft|0|adj=on two story terminal building is located to the north side of the runway. The arrivals level is on the first floor and departures on the second. There are 14 retail stores in the small terminal building. There is an observation deck on the third floor of the building. Transportation from the airport are by car, taxi or bus.

History

Kochi Airport was originally built in 1944 as Kochi Airfield of the Japanese Imperial Navy and from 1945 to 1952 the airport was under command of US forces. The airfield became a civilian airport in 1952 and first flights in 1954.

The runway was expanded in 1960 and 1980 and plans are in works to extend it again to convert|2500|m|ft|0 to handle larger aircraft.

In November 2003 it the became the first airport to Japan to be named after a person: Bakumatsu period leader Sakamoto Ryōma. [ [http://www.thingsasian.com/stories-photos/2718 "Japan's Kochi airport named after samurai with six-shooter"] , "ThingsAsian.com", 2003-11-16.]

Facts

* 2,400,000 passengers annually (1,932,000 in 2000)
* of cargo annually (2000)
* 13,500 landings annually (2000)
* 3 gates handling 37 aircraft

Airlines and destinations

*All Nippon Airways (Osaka-Itami, Osaka-Kansai, Tokyo-Haneda)
*Japan Airlines (Fukuoka, Nagoya-Komaki, Tokyo-Haneda)
**Japan Transocean Air (Okinawa)

Incidents and accidents

13 March 2007, All Nippon Airways Flight 1603, bound from Osaka to Kōchi, landed safely at the Kochi Airport after the front wheel of the plane failed to deploy. As a result, ANA's fleet of thirteen Bombardier DHC-8 aircraft were grounded for emergency inspections. [http://www.news1130.com/news/international/article.jsp?content=w031344A Japanese airline grounds Bombardier fleet after plane makes emergency landing] - All News Radio online - Obtained March 14, 2007.]

References

External links

* [http://www.kochiap.co.jp/ Kochi Ryoma Airport] jp icon
* [http://www.jal.co.jp/en/dom/airport/japan/kcz/kcz_00.html Kochi Airport Guide] from Japan Airlines
* [http://wgordon.web.wesleyan.edu/kamikaze/monuments/kochi/index.htm Kochi Naval Air Group Monument]
*NWS-current|RJOK
*ASN|KCZ